The Apple TV+ hit series, where the Soviets win the Space Race in an alternate timeline, keeps on getting intense as season 5 is about to be released soon. In Season 2 of ‘For All Mankind,‘ we see a timeskip as the story now jumps ahead to 1983. And right from the opening moments, you can feel how much the world and NASA have changed in this alternate-history space race.
The Jamestown base, which is based on the Moon, has grown into a full-blown outpost, as we see Ronald Reagan sitting in the White House, and Ed Baldwin now runs the Astronaut Office. At the same time, we see Karen managing the Outpost restaurant (Which makes sense, as in the end we see Pam meeting her) with help from their adopted daughter, Kelly. It’s a calmer domestic setup for them, but of course, “calm” never lasts long in this timeline.
A Solar Storm triggers the Crisis no one is Prepared for
Things eventually kick off with a massive solar storm that rattles everyone from Earth to the Moon. Most of the astronauts make it to shelter, while Molly Cobb and Wubbo Ockels are still out on the lunar surface. Molly dives into a lava tube for safety, but she goes back out to save Wubbo when she discovers that his rover crashed. And that selfless decision ends up exposing her, along with Wuboo, to a dangerous radiation dose. Because of that, Ellen gave orders to Molly, along with Wuboo, to get back to Houston, even though her radiation wristband was green. Back at home, she tries to downplay it, while the symptoms creep in.
Meanwhile, audiences stay hooked with familiar friendships, and rivalries reawaken as Tracy Stevens shocks everyone by announcing her new engagement on national TV. That sends her ex-husband, Gordo, spiraling even harder than before. We see how badly he has been drinking since that episode, losing confidence, and admitting he never really came back from the Moon. But Ed believes in him enough to send him back into space alongside Danielle Poole on the Jamestown.
But that is not all, because that show always had more layers than being a TV show about space. As political tensions heat up between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, NASA finds itself balancing diplomacy and defense. Both sides want control over lunar mining territory, and suddenly, the idea of putting guns on the Moon isn’t hypothetical anymore; it becomes a reality. Danielle and Gordo prepare for new missions, while Kelly starts dreaming of Annapolis after meeting Danny. And Margo Madison tries to keep NASA stable while quietly giving out engineering insights to Sergei, who is the director of the Soviet Space Center, and a relationship that will only get messier with time.
One Misunderstanding at the Lunar Mine ignites a Deadly Spiral no one can contain
The audiences see how things slowly start to fall apart across Jamestown and NASA HQ, as well as at everyone’s homes. Tracy struggles with isolation on the Moon and starts sneaking cigarettes with the help of her young son, Jimmy. Karen and Ed deal with their marriage cracking in unexpected ways (If you know, you know). Ellen faces personal crossroads, professional pressure, and a growing international crisis. But that is not all, as Ellen hits another obstacle when Thomas Paine dies. We saw their dynamic, and honestly, Paine’s death did sting us all. The downed Korean Air Lines flight triggers global outrage, and the Cold War tension has officially arrived on the Moon.
The final stretch of the season becomes a race to prevent disaster, and a fatal misunderstanding at the lunar mine sparks violence between astronauts and cosmonauts. Jamestown is breached, the Soviets launch Buran, and NASA responds with Pathfinder; everything becomes a big mess. In the middle of all this mishmash, Gordo and Tracy pull off a heroic, improvised spacewalk by tapping themselves with duct tape to prevent the Jamestown reactor from melting down. They save the base, and even though a small glimpse gave us the hope that they might have survived, keeping the practicality of the situation and how much they were suffering, they eventually succumb to their wounds and lose their lives.
The Season closes with a momentary peace where astronauts and cosmonauts shake hands during the Soyuz-Apollo mission, leaving a fractured NASA, as the country gives the honorary title ‘America’s Heroes’ to the Stevens. And a final flash-forward to 1995, where a lone astronaut steps onto the surface of Mars.
Read more: How ‘For All Mankind’ Turns One Space Race Twist Into A Brilliant Alternate History
